People are using €7 item from Dunnes Stores to avoid turning on the heating

The long, cold nights are kicking in and many Dubs are debating whether or not to turn on the heating.

While most years we would happy to pop on the heating in October, with the rise of energy costs and fears over massive bills, households are slow to switch on the heaters until it's absolutely necessary. We hit the streets of Dublin to find out if people have thrown on the heating yet or if they are sticking it out for a while.

One man told Dublin Live: "I'm waiting until it gets really cold to use the heating. We don't put it on at all at night. We're afraid of the bills."

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Another woman said: "We're holding off as long as we can. We never put it on until the beginning of October. We haven't lit a fire or put the heating on yet. We bought the coal before the price went up so we're well prepared."

One woman said she has no choice but to turn on her heating: "I have put it on. I'm 72 years-old. Do you think I can do without my heat? I can't."

However, there was one common answer that a lot of people gave - they are keeping the heating off and using hot water bottles instead.

One Dublin woman told us: "Heating is way too expensive now so what we're doing is just using hot water bottles to try and keep the heat off. It's working for now but we still haven't hit the proper winter months yet. We'll see how we are in December."

Woman speaks to Dublin Live about her heating (Robbie Kane)

You can pick up a hot water bottle in Dunnes Stores for as little as €7 but there is also a lovely fur Paul Costello hot water bottle and eye mask set for €25.

Watch our video above to find out if people have dared to switch on their heating yet this October.

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